


Once, Twice, Sold

by Ellerigby13



Series: 2019 Valentine's Date-a-palooza [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bachelor Auction, F/M, Valentine's Day Prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 08:23:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17618867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellerigby13/pseuds/Ellerigby13
Summary: He looks good.  He knows he looks good.  So it should come as no surprise that he's fetching a high price at the Stark Foundation's Bachelor Auction.  And, hey, it's great that he's selling himself for a good cause, but it's even greater that that hot little brunette from the tech department is probably going to win a night with him.For my 2019 Valentine's Date-a-palooza prompts :)





	Once, Twice, Sold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vindiya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vindiya/gifts).



> Upon request, this is an AU where Bucky has never been brainwashed, and thus is a little more confident than we usually see him in the MCU. He still takes on the moniker of The Winter Soldier but I've HCed that that's a SHIELD codename for him in this instance :)

If there is one thing that Bucky enjoys, it’s watching Steve squirm under the limelight in nothing but a star-spangled Speedo, courtesy of Tony Stark.  It’s hilarious, in fact, given that Steve’s about a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than when they were kids, and that he got the same reaction back in his USO days, just with much more material on.

And now, with a crowd of horny, SHIELD-approved men and women waving their auction numbers at Steve and a  _ very  _ pleased Tony smirking over his microphone, Bucky has never seen him turn quite so red.  But when the final price ( _ Jesus _ , he thinks,  _ twenty grand ain’t much to sneeze at these days, either _ ) is called once, twice, three times, it’s a head of hair equally red standing to claim her bachelor, and a look of relief washes over Steve as he descends the stage to pull Natasha into his arms, reluctantly posing for one press photo before she whisks him off into the night.

“You ready for this?” Pepper Potts asks from beside him, her clipboard tucked meticulously between her arm and her chest.  There’s a line of equally oiled-up Avengers and sidekicks behind them, but a glance down at his own body (though he hasn’t eaten dinner yet and could’ve done with a little more water today) tells him he’s got nothing to worry about once he’s the one taking the stage.  That, and all this is for a good cause.

“Born ready, babe.”  He stretches his arms over his head, and a quick peek to his right catches Pepper’s eye tracing down the length of his body.  Bucky grins, and Pepper rolls her eyes before she diverts her gaze back to her clipboard.

“Alright, then, cowboy, you’re up.”

The stage almost feels natural to him.  He smirks into the blinding overhead lights, trying to look like he isn’t posing, albeit not very hard.  For the benefit of the older women from marketing, the ones in the front, he rests his hands on his hips and flexes his pecs with a sparkling grin.

“Okay, here we have incredibly eligible bachelor Bucky Barnes, known by some as the Winter Soldier, known by others as a gigantic pain in the ass.”  Tony pauses for laughter, then glances back down at his notes. “Bucky Barnes enjoys a glass of whiskey and taking a lady out for dancing, which is why tonight we’re auctioning him off to you for a date at the  _ classiest  _ jazz club in Midtown.  Who’ll give me a thousand bucks for Bucky?”

The bidding starts off quick with an older blonde woman he doesn’t recognize, who, bless her,  _ definitely  _ still has it.  Jesús from accounting bumps him up to twelve hundred in a hurry, and then Terry from IT, laughing a little too loudly with his guys in the corner, picks him up to fifteen.  Back to the blonde lady, and then a short, squat woman he thinks is from HR. Back to Jesús, and then the blonde lady, and then Clint Barton, of all people, who promptly receives a playful smack to the arm from his wife beside him.

And then they go around the bend a couple more times, his number going up to ten thousand quicker than you could say, “holy shit, Batman, that’s a lot of fucking money.”

After that, though, the bidding begins to slow down a little.  The blonde lady’s smiling at him all smug, and Bucky sneaks in a wink to get her to up her ante a little.  Can’t let Steve fetch a higher price, not by all of five grand.

But then he hears a voice - a voice that’s vaguely familiar and somehow strange at the same time.  A woman’s voice, coming from a spot behind all the mooks in catering.

“I’ll give you thirty thousand,” she calls confidently, and Bucky catches sight of her petite figure asserting its way up, her number card high in the air for Tony to see.  Once she’s on her feet and Bucky’s used a hand to shield his eyes from the lights, he recognizes her. The lab supervisor, the one who’d kicked him out one time for walking in with a muffin and without clearance or safety goggles.  Darcy something-or-other.

He needs to learn that last name.  One, because she’s hot, and two, because it looks like she’s taking him out at the end of the party.

“Thirty thousand for Barnes, Tony.”   _ God _ , he can’t believe he’s never seen her out of her work clothes, but now that she’s standing there right in front of him, legs to here and cleavage to there, he figures he oughta get her outta the office more often.

“Thirty thousand going once?  Twice?” Tony pauses, and when Bucky’s eyes flit down to the blonde woman, she’s looking back up at him, mouthing ‘sorry, babe’ with a defeated smile on her lips.  He tosses her a wink, not particularly bothered to be going home on the arm of Darcy something-or-other - if the amazing rack that stretches the limits of that perfectly tailored black sequin dress doesn’t get him, the crystal blue eyes and the gorgeous, almost heart-shaped pink lips will.  “Sold, to the lab supervisor from whom I’m  _ sure  _ I’ll get an invoice in the morning.”

“You got that right,” she chuckles, making her way up to claim him.  When she presses her hand to his chest for the cameras, Bucky doesn’t feel particularly shy wrapping an arm around her waist.  In fact, she fits pretty nice against him, all curves and skin that smells like vanilla. “Nice to meet you, Sergeant Barnes. I’m Darcy Lewis.”

“Darcy Lewis,” he repeats.  Rolls pretty nice off the tongue.  He can’t help but imagine it rolling off nicer, with a few articles of clothing removed from their person.  “Nice to meet you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed <3


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